Penguins forward Beau Bennett will miss “a couple of weeks” with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Johnston said after morning skate on Wednesday.
Bennett injured his right knee after a collision with Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller in the second period of Pittsburgh’s 3-2 overtime win on Monday.
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It is the third injury to affect Bennett this season. In May, he had surgery to correct a poorly healed wrist injury that caused him to miss most of the offseason. After finally returning to game shape in late September, he injured his left knee in a practice collision with Zach Sill.
Bennett has played in seven games this season; recording a goal and two assists. His slot on the third line with Brandon Sutter and Steve Downie will be filled by second-year winger Jayson Megna.
Megna was recalled from Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and got in his first action of the season in Boston on Monday when he recorded 4 hits in 8:39 of ice time. Megna leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with nine goals on the season.
“It’s great that we got him up before [Bennett] got injured, and we had a chance to play him on the fourth line and then bump him up as the game went along,” Johnston said.
Despite having a good camp and playing in 36 NHL games in 2013-14, Megna was sent down to Wilkes-Barre at the beginning of the season. He feels that he is ready to show what he’s learned from his time in the American Hockey League.
“Every day you wake up and you’re not here, you’re hungry to get back up here,” he said after practice. “That’s my goal right now, just to prove that I belong here.”
Sill will regain his place on the fourth line after sitting out on Monday.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Maple Leafs are making their only visit to Consol Energy Center this season. This will be third matchup between the Penguins and Maple Leafs in 2014-15. The Penguins beat the Leafs 5-2 on October 11.
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On November 14, the Penguins again bested Toronto, this time by a 2-1 score.
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In two games against the Leafs, captain Sidney Crosby leads the team with a goal and three assists. Patric Hornqvist, Evgeni Malkin, and Sutter each have a goal and assist.
For Toronto, Cody Franson, Joffrey Lupul, and Tyler Bozak have scored against the Penguins. Jonathan Bernier has taken both losses against Pittsburgh this season. He’s never beaten the Penguins in four career games despite a .912 save percentage.
The Leafs are 2-for-11 on the power play against Pittsburgh this season. The Penguins have converted 3 of their 8 chances on the man advantage against Toronto.
GOLD RUSH: The Penguins will be wearing their throwback third jerseys for the third time this season. For the first time, Marc-Andre Fleury will be wearing bright gold pads to match.
Fleury wore gold pads with his junior team in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, as well has during his first three seasons with the Penguins.
The Penguins are 1-1 in their throwback games this season; losing to the Philadelphia Flyers and beating the New York Rangers in a shootout.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Crosby is tied for the league lead in scoring with Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek with 29 points. He also has the most points on the power play with 14. Malkin is in a four-way tie for the most power play goals, and the team’s power play is the best in the league with a 33.3% success rate.
Christian Ehrhoff is in a four-way tie for the best plus/minus mark amongst defensemen with a plus-13. Downie leads all players with 79 penalty minutes. Fleury is tied with Henrik Lundqvist with four shutouts.
MINOR MATTERS: The WBS Penguins (11-8-1, 1st in East Division) are visiting Hershey tonight. ECHL Wheeling (7-6, 4th in North Division) is hosting Greenville at 7:05 p.m.
